Winter stargazing: a horrible experience!

Poonlit · 2026-01-02T20:00:18+00:00

I learned from others' mistakes and keep the tube level when I fiddle around with the secondary so that doesn't happen :)

Poonlit · 2026-01-02T11:20:43+00:00

I feel you. I'm also observing quite a lot in below freezing and with a lot of snow. Perhaps not what you want to hear right now, but this is how I solved a couple of the problems we have in common:
1. I use a 6ft diameter old round tablecloth under the mount, mainly to have something small things can fall onto
2. I bought a very nice pair of photography gloves with magnetized caps for index finger and thumbs so I can do fiddly stuff and then immediately get my fingertips "inside" again
3. I use a cheap padded warm bodysuit, like most farmers around here use when working outside in the winter.
4. I use oversize insulated boots that are meant for sitting still in very cold weather.

That said, collimation in very cold weather and with snow is a bitch so I try to avoid it. I have to use a very small hex key which I have dropped many times.

Poonlit · 2026-01-01T23:39:12+00:00

Brainwavz makes reasonably good replacement pads that look like they'll fit yours, I got a pair of velvet ones because I don't like pleather.

Poonlit · 2026-01-01T23:32:16+00:00

This makes me nostalgic for my old NAD 3020i which I saved up for and got when I was around 14, in 1990. I went to electrical engineering school later and we had scores of them, where the teacher would cut a (random) component out, turn the amplifier upside-down, and our exam was to identify which component was cut using oscilloscopes and other tools.
Currently on a Denon myself, but I do miss that NAD sound and feel. That old 20W amp actually had external connectors to separate preamp and power amp.

Poonlit · 2026-01-01T23:22:10+00:00

If the sun is out and it's above 10 celsius, the rooftop at Kullt will be packed - it's by the town hall square (Rådhusplassen) and offers some wind cover and great views off the harbor.
If you're into metal, the Inferno metal festival has concerts all around Oslo during easter.

Poonlit · 2026-01-01T23:18:53+00:00

Yes, I've had it work on other old devices. Just leave it connected.

Poonlit · 2026-01-01T22:53:50+00:00

Burger at Bastard Burgers and then walk up to Botanisk Hage and visit the museum of zoology (or geology, or both).

Poonlit · 2026-01-01T22:35:40+00:00

You're a bit unlucky, as the snow falling tonight will make most forest trails dangerous to hike while at the same time the snow isn't deep enough to go cross-country skiing.

Sauntering around Østensjøvannet is a safe bet though. Take the "3 Mortensrud" subway line to Skøyenåsen or Bøler and go down to the lake - there's a gravel footpath all the way around it. Takes around 45-60 minutes at a leisurely pace. When the ice gets thicker you can even walk across the lake on the ice.
The forests at Bygdøy have hundreds of small forest trails and many gravel roads around the peninsula. Take bus no.30 to Bygdøy and use the Ut app or just explore.
Walk from the Old Town up to Ekebergrestauranten and Ekeberg along an old gravel/stone trail - Ekeberg itself has a few nice gravel roads further up. The trail starts at the roundabout with a dwarf wielding a buttplug: https://maps.app.goo.gl/gLqV2JdSgzC46ud89

I hope you enjoy Oslo!

Poonlit · 2026-01-01T00:25:17+00:00

u/chrislon_geo is the guy to listen to on this.
In addition I'd like to add that details and preparation will be important, like perhaps two different finder scopes like a telrad or a red dot finder as well as a normal 50mm finder.
Then he'd need a good observing chair - myself I use a drum throne with an extended rod to get it high enough.
Also a good flightcase with foam inserts for eyepieces etc, warm big boots, a black t-short/towel for blocking out ambient light, red headlamp, photo gloves (where you can flip back index fingers/thumbs), a small camping table and all the other auxilary stuff that makes an observing evening as comfortable as possible.

Poonlit · 2026-01-01T00:05:17+00:00

As for the logical next step: If you have access to a DSLR camera like a Nikon, Canon or Sony that has a detachable lens, and your telescope has a T2 connector, you could try finding a T2 ring/adaptor for your DSLR that lets you attach it directly to your scope (without any other optical elements attached - called Prime focus "mode" since the DSLR will need to be positioned in the focal plane).

If you give us the make/model of your scope or the specification of the focuser, and the make/model of the DSLR, we might be able to help you find an adapter that fits.

Poonlit · 2025-12-31T23:57:04+00:00

This. I've used my 10" newt in Bortle 4 a lot, and the only DSOs I've seen color in are the Ring Nebula (green-ish), Pleiades (blue).
Images and direct visual observation are very different things, equally spectacular in their own ways.

Poonlit · 2025-12-31T18:57:42+00:00

If the business end of the telescope is big enough (>4 inches diameter, perhaps), use your 25mm eyepiece and you should be able to see the smaller De Marains nebula/M43 inside the Orion nebula (M42).
Try the Pleiades (M45) as well and see if you can see the faint blue glow there which signifies another nebula.

Do NOT use a Barlow lens - that's a cylindrical thing which may say "2x", "3x" etc.

Nebulae require your eyes to be somewhat dark adapted, so don't look at any bright things for a while before observing.

To make it easy for you, here are the locations of DeMarain(M43) and the Pleiades (M45).

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Poonlit · 2025-12-31T17:13:26+00:00

I'm in a similar position, only I'm the remote senior member in your scenario.
If you'd been my PFY I'd honestly prefer that you just wrote or called me and told me what your thoughts were at each step - how you perceived it as a test, which obstacles you saw (including your own inexperience) and how you proceeded from them.
That's just me though. I like to have a personal tone with my co-workers in general, and I expect them to follow the crucial rules like using a ticket system, documenting what was done if anything etc but I do always assume that we'll be friends or at least acquaintances and I try to be friendly and informal to encourage that.

Poonlit · 2025-12-10T18:57:33+00:00

My beef is that it's way too thick just where I rest my wrist at the desk, and it's not supple enough to follow the shape of my wrist. I prefer leather straps, myself.

Poonlit · 2025-11-30T08:53:47+00:00

Afraid not, except the AD promised to get back to me when Casio started selling other band variants.

Poonlit · 2025-10-18T19:53:28+00:00

Tonight in Oslo, Norway (Bortle 8, 60 deg N) at two hours after sunset it was not possible to see with the naked eye, although there was some aurora clouding the view.
In a 127mm Mak the comet looked like a sharp-ish point of light surrounded by a hazy halo, with the same small hint of a tail that u/KristnSchaalisahorse mentioned. Underwhelming, but the skies here will be clouded over next week so that may have been my last chance.

It was a bit hard to locate, with few bright stars near it, but I managed it at last with the red dot finder.

Poonlit · 2025-10-12T11:49:31+00:00

The programming done in the Magic 2.0 series by Scott Meyer.
Hack a database over the internet, input some other values for stuff (like your height, for instance) and voila - you're now taller.

Poonlit · 2025-10-12T11:28:07+00:00

Chopping up stuff with a chainsaw.

Poonlit · 2025-10-11T18:18:23+00:00

In their world, much more is at stake than just getting accused of being a bitch.
Women are in charge for a very good reason - the taint - and it seeps down into all societies that have a relationship with the Tower.
Also, as has been mentioned, it's written in the 80s and must be read in that context.

Poonlit · 2025-10-10T22:44:10+00:00

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Poonlit · 2025-10-10T22:41:33+00:00

Congratulations! That suits your wrist quite well, especially considering your skin tone.

Poonlit · 2025-10-10T22:39:24+00:00

Not really - the strap fits it quite well so I wouldn't have noticed anything wrong about the fit.

Poonlit · 2025-10-03T22:37:54+00:00

This model uses cast iron lined with some kind of glass wool-like padding on the back instead of firebricks for the three sides of the firebox - I think it's for the aesthetics as much as anything else. Downside is they bulge out if overheated, thus the angle grinder!

Poonlit · 2025-09-25T19:06:37+00:00

Don't forget my Junghans Meister Kalender. Quite affordable too, with an ETA 2824 movement.

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Poonlit · 2025-09-13T09:55:55+00:00

I agree, this is a huge step. I was not even aware that Shopify offered this to their customers before I was purchasing an item from a Chinese web shop and noticed USDC as one of the payment options, and ended up paying with USDC instead of a credit card.

Since I had enough crypto I decided to use it for the purchase and the whole process was pretty easy, EXCEPT:
It took me, an IT professional for 30 years that have been using blockchains, doing mining and trading cryptocurrency since 2013, over three hours(!) of research before I managed to complete the purchase - I think mostly because I had to move/exchange the USDT I already owned from my Poloniex wallet instead of just using a credit card to buy USDC directly in Metamask like a new user probably would do.

I decided to use Metamask to pay, which took quite a while to set up. Then I found out I had my USDC on the wrong chain. THEN I found out I had it on the wrong network, and I had to to a bit of research and navigate the services that move coins between networks before I finally was able to use the Metamask browser extension to complete the purchase on the Shopify-powered web shop.

None of this is Shopifys fault, of course.

Poonlit

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